icebob

Hi Farri, yes you are correct but what confused me was the attitude of the instructors and CFI at that first school to my log book and would not take me up so i could prove myself. Offered me an aircraft and instructor for the day to get my PPL back though????? They were more interested in selling me a "package" to get my full license(PPL & CPL), it was almost like the used car salesman steriotype, I walked away. Bob.

Hi Facehunter, Yes I too agree there are a lot of fakes out there, had an issue with that with someone with fake TA FE/Uni certificates. I am not looking for employment and i did make that clear, however one of the schools were happy with my documentation did say if i was intrested in becoming an instructor they would take me on(have current cert 4 in workplace traiing and i teach firstaid to the public now). However my second log book on the inside cover had my expired PPL(2001) and the logbook was stamped by a school that is still in operation today so at least 50% of my hours in that book can be verified, the initial school would not even entertain them or me getting a letter sent to them from the "old" school. I even provided receipts for aircraft hire as i keep all that sort of thing - yes I am a hoarder:confused:. none of that documented evidence was taken into account by the first school. I got in the habit of entering everything in the log book, I guess something drilled into us from the Navy, even my ditching drill sessions in the swimming pool(:yuk:) and just carried on from there, i also have an exercise book(s) where i detail the date/time,conditions on the day, the flight plan and anything else of intrest, great reading 10-20 years down the track. My only regret is not taking photos too. Bob.

Hi Tony, Thanks for your reply maybe I did not explain myself well, sorry, yes i was quite prepared to demonstrate my skills to an instructor and yes I did get a junior instructor at the school i went to first who just wanted to put me thought as though i was a brand new pilot without letting me demonstrate my skills, very disappointing, i approached the CFI of that school and asked him to test me, he was reluctant, i guess to "protect" his instructor. I set out a Nav for four airstrips a total of 4 hours and 40 minutes, set it all up like i was actually going to do it, all the right paperwork. Talked about theory of flight a bit, just to show i was not a dummy but he would not listen, even showed him my current log book, not interested. I have switched to another school in a more country position where i am treated with genuine respect and who offered me the opportunity to show my skills. I have no objection at doing hours to qualify but my objection is if it is good enough sighting my log book and showing my flight skills for one school why is it not good enough for the other? the first school had me confused with the validity of my log book, the instructor kept saying as i had now association with a authorized association my flight time did not count, I questioned that as some flight time is with the R.A.N, he said that was OK but all the rest was not. your response doubly confirms he was wrong, so thanks for that, this is one school i will not be going back to. I have visited two schools that I have shown my skills to and will take me on, so it is a conflict for me which one i go to - bugger!

Piper Cub, the first aircraft I soloed in. bob.

Great to hear from you Baphomet:thumb_up:. Although I have only been "officially" with RAA a very short time I am seeing holes and other issues. I got a student license so I could put my foot into the water so to speak. It is true i have meet a bunch of really nice guys and gals but when you start talking about the every day things that we as low and slow observe, sometimes you loose them. Coming in to the fold so to speak how can you justify/prove your flying hours or flight experience to RAA if you are not registered with any recognized organization?:confused: Sure at an authorized flying school your skills show through but you still start with a nil hours log book and your assessments can get colored by your methods of flying, what was good for the drifter or like is not good in a Jab! Bob.

Hi Adam, Make it 4. I strated flying in 1966 and from then to now have only had one major issue early 2008. My first home built(VP-1) had up until March 2008, 3910.5 airframe hours without accident, engine failure or getting the pilot lost. It is a shame that organisations sometimes forget those on the fringes and those pilots resorting to just flying a farm somewhere and not getting to meet the many good and honest pilots that are around in our sport. Bob.

Hi, Well i must agree with Tony about the practicality of policing flying, I for one did 5 years of flying like that out of Nowra from 1972 to 1977, then for 2 years joined AUF. I know of a couple of people who fly on their farms/stations and have done so for years safely and without major issues that have no intention of joining any organization that they could see no actual benefit from. I for one would be interested in the 600 if it came on line or a good secondhand drifter or the like. That end of the spectrum is dying like Tony said, a great shame, even getting support for aircraft like the drifter or even taking the step up one to tiny teenies and Volksplanes and the like there is very little support outside the group of actual flyer's and builders. These group of aircraft with limited range and HP appear to be the forlorner forgotten ones in favor of the slick machine in plastic, while i do enjoy a flight in the plastic aircraft i do love the open cockpit and the sting of bugs and that feeling of freedom at one with the elements more. So are by maybe unintentional neglect these small groups being driven away or underground to "do thair own thing" or in a few cases I know of going to trikes? Bob.

Hi, The department of defence has purchased UAV's and pilot/operator training is now being conducted in Western Australia. Bob.

Chicken pox from the grand kids!!!!!!thumb_down "give me a kiss someone"?:yuk: Bob.

Hi, I can add to this but a bit of a story. in the late 1960's i was spotting for the fishing fleet to get hours up in either a cub or a C150. On return to Devonport(Tas) the 2pm Fokker Friendship was on final so being young and smart and knowing it all i joined directly after him at 500 feet on final and called it so on the radio. The trainee in a C182 (me in the cub)doing his second solo was on downwind and me stuck between him and the Fokker, not a good place, so radioed a go around and joined normal circuit. Nothing was said to me at the time, the Fokker had long landed, the student was still doing his thing in the circuit and me red faced and shaking at my stupidity in the aero club rooms. At around 4.30pm two Ag pilots landed, refuel and came over to the aero club and proceeded to coach me on the errors of my ways, a wake up call, not only did they both know about my idiot move but also told me where i went wrong with all my landings that day, do you know i did not know they both were in the area. A real wake up call about looking out side and actually seeing what is really there not assuming. Never forgot that lesson. Bob.

Hi, Vapor lock(fuel converting to gas) was far more common in older mogas fueled systems incorporating a low-pressure mechanical fuel pump driven by the engine, located in the engine compartment and feeding a carburetor. Such pumps were typically located higher than the fuel tank, were directly heated by the engine and fed fuel directly to the float bowl inside the carburetor. Fuel was drawn under negative pressure from the feed line, increasing the risk of a vapor lock developing between the tank and pump. A vapor lock being drawn into the fuel pump could disrupt the fuel pressure long enough for the float chamber in the carburetor to partially or completely drain, causing fuel starvation in the engine. Even temporary disruption of fuel supply into the float chamber is not ideal; most carburetors are designed to run at a fixed level of fuel in the float bowl and reducing the level will reduce the air:fuel mixture delivered. Carburetor units may not effectively deal with fuel vapor being delivered to the float chamber. Most designs incorporate a pressure balance duct linking the top of the float bowl with either the intake to the carburetor or the outside air. Even if the pump can handle vapor locks effectively, fuel vapor entering the float bowl has to be vented. If this is done via the intake system, the mixture is, in-effect, enriched, creating a mixture control and pollution issue. If it is done by venting to the outside, the result is direct hydrocarbon pollution and an effective loss of fuel efficiency and possibly a fuel odor problem. For this reason, some fuel delivery systems allow fuel vapor to be returned to the fuel tank to be condensed back to the liquid phase. This is usually implemented by removing fuel vapor from the fuel line near the engine rather than from the float bowl. Such a system may also divert excess fuel pressure from the pump back to the tank. Most modern engines are equipped with fuel injection, and have a high pressure electric fuel pump in the fuel tank. Moving the fuel pump to the interior of the tank helps prevent vapor lock, since the entire fuel delivery system is under high pressure and the fuel pump runs cooler than if it is located in the engine compartment. This is the primary reason that vapor lock is rare in modern fuel systems. For the same reason, some carburetter engines are retrofitted with an electric fuel pump near the fuel tank(I did this). Other solutions to vapor lock are rerouting of the fuel lines away from heat generating components, installation of a fuel cooler or cool can, shielding of heat generating components near fuel lines, and insulation of fuel lines. An older alternative was to solder penny washers along the fuel line to act as mini heat dispersers. A vapor lock is more likely to develop when the vehicle is in traffic because the under-hood temperature tends to rise. A vapor lock can also develop when the engine is stopped while hot and the vehicle is parked for a short period. The fuel in the line near the engine does not move and can thus heats up sufficiently to form a vapor lock. The problem is more likely in hot weather or high altitude in either case. Do not assume that a gravity feed fuel system is immune to vapor lock simply because there is no fuel pump to "upset.” Much of the foregoing applies equally to a gravity feed system; if vapor forms in the fuel line, its lower density reduces the pressure developed by the weight of the fuel. This pressure is what normally moves fuel from the tank to the carburetor, so fuel supply will be disrupted until the vapor is removed, either by the remaining fuel pressure forcing it into the float bowl and out the vent or by allowing the vapor to cool and re condense. Vapor lock has been the cause of many a forced landing in aircraft. That is why aviation fuel (AVGAS) is manufactured to far lower vapor pressure than mogas. In addition aircraft are far more susceptible because of their ability to change altitude rapidly. Liquids boil at lower temperatures when in lower pressure environments. Bob.

Hi, Just to let you know i got GPS for dummies unit to work will be doing more work on it later(after Christmas) but a trial of just 38kms worked fine. Will try with pocketFMS and let you know how i go. Bob

Hi Brett, No the guys were not armed, that was another funny. All the weapons were put into a secure vehicle on the tarmac and driven off site without anyone stopping it and the gate was left open so he could drive off the tarmac- go figure???

Hi all, I had a mate who is still in the Navy stay with me/us last night. He drove a bus from Sydney to pick up a guard of Honor from Canberra airport and drive them back to Sydney. He parked the bus went into the terminal walked out onto the tarmac where all the guard were lined up, everyone of them in uniform. On trying to enter the terminal again was stopped by a security guard, you guess it no ASIC cards. End result the guard went into riot control training mode and just marched through/over/around the guard out to the bus and no one said boo except the guard was horrified stating he will loose his job now. Where in the blue blazes has common sense gone to?????

Hi, nothing happens when I try to print. I am using XP Pro. I have also noticed in the last day or so that some of the detail is going. I tried a re-install but it keeps telling me I am already registered and will not go any further. I have had one unhelpful email from the company and that is it???? I have tried updating everything too. So I have lost printing ability within pocketFMS, some boundry or airways lines and I can not re-install as the registration page blocks it. Bob.

Hi Ron, no the file is not there, I also noted that there are no help files either:loopy: Bob.

Hi Ron, unfortunately that did not work, I have contacted pocketFMS direct and the return email was not very encouraging, I hope they can give me a resolution, if not then it is lucky i am using the trial version cos i sure am not going to buy it if they can't fix it. The first email response was to reinstall it even though i told them i had tried that twice:loopy:. Bob.

THE FIX Unplug the controller, click Start click Run, type regedit and click OK. In the Registry Editor open to the following folders in order: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE SYSTEM CurrentControlSet Control MediaProperties PrivateProperties DirectInput And delete the VID_06A3&PID_0464 folder. Plug the controller back in, rotate the sticks a couple of times. hope this helps others.;):thumb_up: Bob.

Hi Ross, thanks for that. This issue raised its ugly head when a Volksplane from Australia was transported to the US and flown by its owner. Most states over there use ethanol to reduce state pollution and some of the bowsers are not marked as ethanol added. A raw fiberglass tank that has not been subject to ethanol here will develop leaks in the US because of the ethanol if the tank is not coated. With the increasing availability of ethenol added fuels here the same issue will occur if builders/pilots are not aware of this issue. Bob.

Hi everyone, I have an interesting one for you, my evo joystick has started giving problems. First it started with taxing you would wander all over the place even with the stick still, on grass, runway, anywhere. Then the rudder control became over sensitive with heaps of over control from very small movements. I reduced the sensitivity in the settings page and re-calibrated in windowes and FS and it was good for a short while but it has started again. Has anyone got any thoughts? Any help would be appreciated. I use XP Pro, 2.8Ghz dual core, 4 gig DDR2 ram on a 160Mg HDD. Bob.

Thanks for that it works a treat.:thumb_up: Bob.

Hi, I am trialling Pocket FMS for the first time and I was wondering if other users of Pocket FMS are having issues printing the maps or is it just me? I'm one of those map,compass, watch and eyeball types and hardly ever used one of these new fangled things call GPS.:confused: Bob.

Hi, There is quite a lot of information on this subject on the Volkplane web site with Yahoo. It appears the issue is if ethanol is added to the fuel as according to that web site all types of fiberglass are resistant to ethanol but not proofed for it. That site virtually said that any mix of ethanol will dissolve the tank. Bob.

Yes those were the days. That was the location of my most idiotic flight attempt, the wind was so strong but youth and a lack of common sense, i took to the edge at Stanwell Tops, the next thing i remember is being inverted hanging from the harness. The wind had picked me up and flipped me. Bent the glider and the harness had rashed me up something chronic. That act of stupidity cost me yards of skin and a new glider from Ray plus i was convinced to shout the boys Berger's at you know where. Bob.